If it wasn't so serious a subject, one could laugh about the Land Transport Authority's (LTA) safety card. Not for what it has included but what it has left out.
The LTA is trumpeting its latest engineering feat and why not? The Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) is the longest underground expressway in South-east Asia.
Safe Tunnel Driving Habits, a safety card insert, is being made available to all motorists to encourage them to drive safely and know expressway rules.
We've been asked to keep it in our cars at all times.
So what are we supposed to do? Read it when stuck in a jam, place it in front of us so we can refresh our memories or use it as a sun-shield visor?
We are champions here in publishing glossy and supposedly informative guides about anything and everything and this LTA offering is no different.
Except that for a tunnel expressway - and this is equally relevant to any road - I do not believe how they could have omitted one important safety measure.
I conducted a bit of a survey. Okay, it's not really scientific, but I e-mailed 30 drivers, five of whom had passed their driving test only this year.
My question: What do you do when you hear a police car or ambulance siren behind you?
Only one said he would slowly and safely move to the left to allow the essential service vehicles to pass.
Most - 21 in all, with years of driving experience between them - said they would step on the gas. Eight said they didn't know what to do.
Not one had been taught what to do in such a situation. It does not seem to be part of our driver training. And there must be thousands of drivers on our roads who do not know about this important rule.
It beggars belief that the Automobile Association, the Traffic Police and the LTA have failed to spell out this important message.
I have driven in more than a dozen countries. And let me tell you, on this matter, there is only one rule.
If you hear an ambulance or a police car behind you on an expressway, you must move slowly and safely to the left. If you are driving on a street, then you must do that and stop. In the UK, one can be fined on the spot for disobeying this rule.
And, by the way, you are taught this on day one, even before the instructor allows you to start the car.
While on the subject of driving, you probably know someone who drives like this: One hand on horn, one hand greeting someone, one ear on handphone, one ear listening to loud music, one knee on steering wheel, one foot on accelerator, eyes on female pedestrians.
No wonder that traffic accidents are becoming depressingly common on our roads. Bad driving habits are the main cause.
It's time to go back to the basics and to cultivate good driving habits, beginning at the learning stage.
Also, a fine for speeding is not enough.
Two months ago, in the UK, I was radar-zapped for driving slightly over the speed limit. I was offered the choice to pay the fine, attend a one-day speed awareness course and not have three demerit points endorsed on my licence, or pay the fine, not attend the course and suffer the points. You can guess what I did.
Maybe a one-day speed awareness course should be made compulsory here too, in addition to a fine.
But for now, you should know what to do when you hear that siren behind you.
Move safely out of the way. And you don't need a safety card to refer to.
This article was first published in The New Paper on Oct 2, 2008.
